Posted on 12/30/2021 8:09:36 AM PST by BenLurkin
Roscosmos, Russia’s state space agency, launched its Angara A5 rocket as part of a demonstration on Monday, NASASpaceflight.com reports. The spacecraft was headed towards graveyard orbit, a region of space around Earth where satellites are typically directed to at the end of their operational life.
Before the rocket could reach its final destination, though, its upper stage engine failed two seconds into its second burn. This left the rocket and its dummy payload stranded in very low Earth orbit.
The rocket is actually so low that it’s now expected to go through an uncontrolled reentry, according to some experts.
Jonathan McDowell, astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, tweeted that the mass of the rocket and payload weighs “around four tons” in all “so some bits may reach Earth surface.”
(Excerpt) Read more at futurism.com ...
Just goes to show how good Korolov was.
The Soviets totally wasted his talents for political reasons.
Of course the batteries died. The Professor recharged the batteries using coconuts, sea water, hairpins and pennies.
My rule of thumb is I’ll watch the movies lib jerks made if they were made before I knew they were jerks. Otherwise I’d have to give up Bull Durham.
“Oh...I thought it was real...damn! Actually Gilligan’s island was about 300 meters off the coast of Oahu, I believe.”
Movie set in California.
Re-entry over Acapulco. Currently between Madagascar and Australia skipping off the atmosphere. Altitude bouncing between 114 and 106km.
PING
haha!
Vlad is quite the stud.
good tracker
I fell in the ocean?
“official sources say it’s still up...”
Ya, that article noted the time it hit “earth”, meaning the atmosphere. It continues to skip along said atmosphere. It’s not slowing down very much at the moment, but I reckon that will change real quick like the lower it gets. I have a clear night here. Maybe I can see it if it’s nearby. It’ll have to slow down a lot to be able to see it however.
“The rocket is actually so low that it’s now expected to go through an uncontrolled reentry, according to some experts.”
Ping to post #67
You may have some “incoming” there in Queensland via Pooty.
This is the tracker link:
Speed hasn’t changed as much as altitude.
Anyone have a working stream? They’re all locked up for me.
This Russian rocket part is out-of-control, will crash into Earth soon
Astronomers are tracking a part of a failed Russian rocket stranded in orbit but will now crash down to Earth uncontrollably.
[snip]
While hearing that a few hundred kilograms may make it to Earth’s surface is certainly unsettling, McDowell reminded the public that “Most of the world is ocean,” meaning that the chances of the materials hitting land are much lower than the chances of it landing in the ocean.
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